I think I'm a part of the first generation of journalists to skip print media entirely, and I've learned a lot these last few years at Forbes. My work has appeared on TVOvermind, IGN, and most importantly, a segment on The Colbert Report at one point. Feel free to follow me on Twitter or on Facebook, write me on Facebook or just email at paultassi(at)gmail(dot)com. I'm also almost finished with my sci-fi novel series, The Earthborn Trilogy.

Live Blog: Microsoft's Xbox One E3 Press Conference

We head into this year’s E3 in a rather odd position. Normally we’d all be waiting with bated breath for the start of a new console generation, as the event is where new systems tend to make their debut. But in order to get a jump on things, SonySonyhas revealed the Playstation 4 and MicrosoftMicrosoft the Xbox One in their own events weeks or months ago.

But those reveals still left many questions about each system. Neither revealed a full catalog of games, or said anything about prices or specific release dates. Sony didn’t even show their system.

Recent days have been filled with controversy as Microsoft finally put pen to paper about their official policies regarding used game resale (it’s up to the publishers) and internet connection (the Xbox One must check in to the mothership once a day). Today we get to see if they walk any of this back, or shift their focus from sports and TV back to games in order to more directly compete with Sony, and win the hearts and minds of loyalists and newcomers alike.

Microsoft’s E3 presser starts at 9:30 PT/12:30 ET, and you can watch it here. I’ll be updating this live blog with my own thoughts during the press conference. As this is old school, you’ll have to refresh the page to see the newest updates on top. I welcome your own thoughts in the comments or on Twitter, and be sure to check back for a similar post during tonight’s 6 PT/9 ET Sony press event.

2:06 – That’s all she wrote. 100% games, which is good, but nothing about used resale, privacy, or internet connection concerns. Really, nothing about the technical side of the console AT ALL, which is odd given how all that much wasn’t said in the reveal. The biggest news is unquestionably that $500 price point, which will need much more discussion. Be sure to tune back into Forbes tonight at 6 PT/9 PT where I’m turning liveblogging duties over to Dave Thier, who will be attending Sony’s event.

2:01 – Alright this game is nice and all, but we have to talk about that price point. It’s obvious why they didn’t close with it. I thought they wanted to get one of these in every home to serve as an “entertainment box.” No non-gamer is going to shell out $500 for it. No way. Even avid gamers will have to think twice at launch. If the Playstation 4 really is $400 the way many have been predicting, that’s going to be a HUGE benefit for them. I have to imagine Kinect really drove the price of this up, and that could be a big mistake.

1:59 – Our first look at Titanfall, the jetpack, mechwarrior, future shooter. Looked fun, but not as visually sharp as other titles that have been shown. Maybe it’s the stream, but it looks indistinguishable from current gen. Gameplay is definitely more Halo than Call of Duty.

1:55 – Literally no information about 2014 Halo, not even a title. One might assume that could mean it isn’t Halo 5.

1:54 – Stealthy Halo reveal, though can we discuss how ridiculous it is that Master Chief was wearing a cloth robe over his power armor?

1:52 – Approaching an hour and a half, still going strong with a 100% games focus. Impressive, though they have to close with at least some form of tech discussion and price, right?

1:46 – Even if a game is awesome, as Battlefield 4 appears to be, I never fail to get bored of overly long demos of shooters.

1:43 – The thirty seconds a demo doesn’t work when it’s supposed to must feel like six hours.

1:42 - Wow, I’m surprised Microsoft is letting Battlefield 4 onstage, given that it’s a direct competitor to their own exclusive, Call of Duty: Ghosts. (this is a joke, do not yell at me).

1:40 – Interesting to give a decently big timeslot to The Witcher. Looks fantastic on the Xbone. In related news, there still isn’t a better abbreviation for “Xbox One” than “Xbone,” even if you’re not trying to insult it. The One? The XB1? I don’t know.

1:35 – If they fixed the saving and checkpoint system, I’m fully on board for this. The sheer amount of zombies screen is even more nuts than before. And it’s just so gloriously goofy. Probably the most fun demo so far, and not a bad exclusive franchise for Microsoft.

1:26 – Killer Instinct battle. “Just let it happen, it will be over soon.” Phrasing…

1:24 – Moving on from specific games, we’re getting into tech with XBL and Smartglass and game DVRing.

1:18 – Of course as soon as I say that, we’re watching a voice controlled game ten seconds later. “Project Spark” sort of looks like an open world Little Big Planet.

1:17- Let’s take a pause to be very impressed about how this is 100% games so far, and no one has even said the word “Kinect” yet.

1:15 – Guy freezes time, can pull people out of it. That was equally as confusing as the first spot. What in the world is the game about?

1:14 – Okay, we’re back to Quantum Break, which is a TV show and a game that influence each other. This was perhaps the most confusing part of the Xbox One reveal, where a little girl made a boat crash into a bridge. Or something.

1:11 – Official pitch about indie developers now. “We love you, we swear.” Now featuring Minecraft, which I don’t think qualifies as a small game anymore.

1:09 – The game remembers your driving style, and uses it as AI against other players when you’re gone. You earn points for virtual you doing well. That’s sort of awesome.

1:07 – If there is a next console generation after this one, we’ll be able to see the individual molecules of the cars in the next Forza/Gran Turismo.

1:05 – Now we’re learning about McLaren’s latest supercar. Two exist in the world, and one is now on stage. I’m assuming this is Forza related. Hey, at least it’s not an Usher performance.

1:03 – Insomniac shows Sunset Overdrive, a cartoony stylized shooter that’s a bit more grown up than Ratchet and Clank.

1:01 – The return of Killer Instinct! Everyone’s fifth favorite fighting game of all time! I kid, I kid, it’s a classic. Will be curious to see the new version.

12:57 – “People hate quick time events, we better make them a part of EVERY ENCOUNTER.”

12:53 - We’re moving on to the Xbox One, finding out about some new exclusives. Kicking things off with the previously announced Ryse. Actual footage this time though.

12:51 – I thought this second game was Infinity Blade with Kinect controls for a second. That would be sort of awesome. Rather, it’s Dark Souls II. Erik Kain will be pleased.

12:50 – Max: The Curse of Brotherhood from a Danish studio. I think this is Microsoft trying to indicate they are the friend of smaller devs, despite their rather restrictive rules on indie titles that says otherwise.

12:47 – World of Tanks comes to 360. Haven’t played, but it does look like a blast, no pun intended.

12:44 – Mattrick “It’s all about the games.” A necessary statement to begin the day. Starting off with remaining 360 games, and also yet another resdesign for the console, available today.

12:35 – Courtesy of Daniel Tack, from Mountain Dew’s Twitter: “Gamers, you ready? The biggest gaming promo in DEW history is coming this fall. Trust us, you’ll want to be part of this one.” Ohhh boy. I hope it involves Doritos.

12:24 – Apparently a Rare staffer just revealed by accident that the Xbox One comes out in November. Not exactly a shock.

12:16 – I will be very curious to see if Microsoft directly addresses the used games and always on complaints after the week they’ve had, but if I had to guess, they’ll just save further clarification for a series of confusing post-show interviews.

12:12 – Gamespot’s pre-show isn’t particularly riveting, not that I could do any better. If I had a TV in here, I’d be watching Spike.

12:08 – Oh, alright. All the 9 AM PT times were for “pre-show” coverage it seems. Real event starts in twenty minutes. Weird that Gamespot died right at noon however. It’s back online now. Stay tuned.

12:05 – Microsoft just made me sign in with my gamertag to watch the stream on Xbox.com. And the stream doesn’t work there. Gamespot continues to be dead. Not quite sure what’s going on.

12:04 – On Xbox.com, it now says this starts at 9:30/12:30. Hmm.

12:01 – Annnd the Gamespot stream is dead for me. Not good.

12:00 – Here we go, the official live blog begins now!

11:40 – A few predictions before we kick off here. I’ll hazard a guess at the price being $400. It would be nice if it was a cheaper surprise like $300, but with packaged Kinect, I’m not sure I can see that being the case unless Microsoft is willing to take a huge loss. Also, I think that they’ll be more heavily focused on games after the backlash from their reveal, where they extolled the virtues of the One as a TV changer and fantasy sports companion. Hopefully we’ll see most of the 15 promised exclusive titles, and they’ll be worthwhile. Expectations are low, so Microsoft could surprise here.

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I BOUGHT A WIN. 8 TOUCHSCREEN, I CAN’T IN SHORT TELL YOU JUST HOW BAD 8 IS. INTRUSIVE, PERVASIVE, BING NON-STOP, FLYING TILES, MARGINS JUMP IN FROM RIGHT TO LEFT TOUCH USAGE. THIS JUNK TAKES ALL THE FUNCTIONALITY OUT OF WINDOWS. I ALSO HAVE VISTA. EVEN THAT IS BETTER THAN 8. XP, WAS THE LAST FUNCTIONAL OS. PHONE WILL HATE 8. AND BING IS EMBEDDED INTO IE-10 AS WELL AS ALL THE TILES….SO BING AT THE LEAST FAVORABLE TIMES. TOO MANY FALSR READS FROM HAND GESTURES. IT’S TOTALLY DYSFUNCTIONAL. AND LEAVES WIN. USERS TO STRUGGLE. NON-STOP. 8 WEEKS OLD PC. I HATE IT.

$499 is really not that bad considering the specs under the hood. The PS3 60GB launched at $599 back in 2006. Not to mention you could not buy a gaming pc or an HTPC with the same specs for anywhere close to $499. Not to mention the cost of the Kinect bundled with the system. Really though it’s not terrible if you consider it being for the most part the center piece of your home entertainment center.

You could do a HTPC for around 500. Not so much for a gaming machine though. You really don’t need much GPU for a HTPC and the onboard sound controllers are sufficient for most things.

A gaming rig on the other hand is always a work in progress. Either it is the GPU getting swapped out or the CPU/mobo (possibly ram as well) for real “upgrades”. Everything else is just matainence related really. Not hard doing a cpu/mobo or GPU swap between architechture generations for under 500, unless going for dual card in one slot solutions. In which case it would be more enthusiast range instead of just average gaming.

Or is it your assumption that those machines are always scratch built for no good reason at all?

Kinect probably did drive the price up, which I feel is similar to Nintendo’s decision to work so hard on that gamepad. It’s something which should be a neat accessory, but since they’re trying so hard to make it the centerpiece of the console it jacks up the price unnecessarily. Neither Kinect or gamepad is so compelling that I feel I must have the console.

So, expensive box with subscription to pay for the DRM. If that isn’t a selling point, then the re-hashed failed fighting game Killer instinct will break the fail combo for MSFT. No? Surely the cutting edge technology that was introduced in 1983 ala dragon’s lair set in rome will win it for them. No? How about some Capcom shovelware with rockman?

Mmmm, mmm, mmm good stuff there. Still waiting on anything even hinting like incentive to buy into the platform.

Great an unremovable 500gb drive, three operating systems, mandatory game installs, a Kinect capable of capturing 2gb/sec data and dvr capabilities – this is going to work well, don’t even think of putting music or pictures on there, it will be stuffed full within a couple of months.

You know, honestly, if the price had been 300 or possibly even 400, I woulda have been heavily conflicted on which console to get; but considering the liberties that PS4 is giving seemingly for free, It’s the obvious one to go to despite the wonderful Titanfall, Ryse and Dead Rising 3

“baited breath”? Seriously? I thought Forbes prided itself on writing, after all. It is, of course, intended to be “bated breath” since the breathing is abated in anticipation of the event. The other version has something to do with fish.